School's first grads tough it out

Tuesday

May 14, 2013 at 12:01 AMMay 14, 2013 at 9:54 AM

STOCKTON - With his characteristic bombast, Principal Michael Hall stood before a group of freshmen in the new Stockton Early College Academy nearly four years ago and issued a guarantee that sounded almost like a threat.

Roger Phillips

STOCKTON - With his characteristic bombast, Principal Michael Hall stood before a group of freshmen in the new Stockton Early College Academy nearly four years ago and issued a guarantee that sounded almost like a threat.

"This is the toughest school you'll ever go to," Hall warned.

Hall himself may have had no idea just how right he would turn out to be.

In its first four years, SECA would have three principals, have two locations and survive a yearlong effort by Hall and a group of disaffected parents to separate from Stockton Unified and establish their own school.

But as the end of its fourth year draws near, SECA has more than survived, and so have the school's 300 students. On May 30, its 75-student senior class will be the first to receive diplomas from the small campus at Harding Way and San Joaquin Street.

Just as significantly, the future looks bright for the rigorous school that offers students the chance to leave high school with up to two years of college credits.

"We're in a really good place," said English teacher Shannon Kelly, who has been at SECA since its inception. "I feel confident of where the school is now - good leadership, backing from the district and great kids."

More than half of SECA's seniors have been accepted into four-year colleges, and eight of the soon-to-be graduates racked up enough credits for a combined 21 associates' degrees, according to counselor Andres Uyeda.

SECA's valedictorians - 18-year-old Priya Patel and Sarah Palmer, who will be 17 next week - have been at the school since the start, have 4.86 grade-point averages and are headed to the University of California, Berkeley.

Hall's warnings of sleepless nights and early mornings spent on homework proved prescient, but Palmer and Patel express few regrets. Palmer says she wishes she'd been able to participate in athletics during high school. Patel voiced mild disappointment over missing several trips with her father, Shailesh, to his native India.

"I had to stay home and do homework," Patel said. "I wasn't able to go home to see my grandparents."

But Patel says her educational labors have been driven by the words of her parents, who operate a south Stockton motel.

"My mom always uses the example that she wants us to get an education so we're not stuck in the same situation they are right now, so that we always end up better than they were," Patel said.

Last year, though, SECA tested the faith of even its most devoted students. Administrators from Stockton Unified and a group of dissident parents (with Hall in the background) squared off for much of the school year over control of the school. Distracted students spent their time wondering how all the squabbling by adults would affect their educations.

"It really took a toll on me," Palmer recalled. "It took a toll on my classmates. A lot of us questioned, 'Is this school even going to be here? Should I high-tail it out?' "

In the end, the dissidents yielded in their battle with Stockton Unified and established their own independent charter school. By the time the school, VISTA Charter, opened for its disastrous two-week run in September at the Sherwood Mall, Hall was long gone under circumstances that remain murky.

Patel said she stayed at SECA rather than switching to short-lived VISTA for one basic reason.

At the moment, SECA is undergoing the next phase in its evolution. SECA's campus - in a bygone era it was Stockton High School - is undergoing a $6 million renovation that is scheduled to be largely complete by the time students arrive for the 2013-14 school year. In 12 months, another group of seniors will be finishing its fourth year at the school. Hall once described SECA as the "toughest school" they would ever attend, and that still may be the case. But Patel says the late nights and hefty workload have been well worth it.

"I might have missed out on spending more time with my family," she said. "But I know that the education I'm getting right now, I'm doing it for them. The experiences I've had here and the people I've met, I know I would never trade that."